Wednesday, March 31, 2010

1997 was a massive touring year for Blur, where they toured non-stop from January to December and traveled literally all over the world, including their first (and to date, only) tours of Australia and Southeast Asia. Starting just 12 days after the end of the spring US tour and ending only 10 days before their spring Japanese tour, they sandwiched in this European tour. The tour dates are below, with the available recordings in bold font.

There were slight variations, with Inertia replacing Oily Water during the early part of the tour, and Coping being played earlier in the tour as well. Also, some shuffling of the song order occurred, such as Jubilee being played second a few times, Girls and Boys alternating between the beginning and end of the shows, and other minor variations. The set is a nice cross section of Blur's material up to this point, with only Stereotypes and The Universal surviving from The Great Escape. Most of the songs from Blur were played, although I'm Just a Killer For Your Love was absent and would surface in the set during the summer US tour. This tour shows the band really hitting their stride, although the shows tend to be more "professional" and less manic...the shows are really nice. And they even managed to squeeze in a Peel Acres session at the end of April back in England!

As I mentioned, the bold font shows have known available recordings. I have all of them except for the ones I am currently seeking, which are the Hamburg, Berlin, and Cesena shows. If you have these or any others, please contact me privately.

There are gaps in this tour, especially during mid-April and May, so it would be great to find some to fill in the gaps! Especially some shows from this tour in France and Spain!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

In addition to contacting me regarding any live Blur recordings you may have, as most of you know, I'm currently working on the 2nd edition of Black Book, which I'd like to have out in 2011 or 2012 at the latest. Besides the additional information and new shows added to it, I'm trying to add some interesting stuff related to their live shows, while being mindful that until I get official OK from Blur and EMI (if I ever even do) that I cannot use copyrighted material.

That's where *YOU* can come in. I've decided I'd like to *try* to include a section with pictures of tickets stubs across Blur's career. I have quite a few scans people have sent me and want to try to make this its own section at the end of the book...I think it'd be fun and informative, plus just plain cool to look at. So, if any of you have scans of ticket stubs you could send me from Blur concerts you've been to from any year, and would be willing to send me a scan to use in the book, I'd really appreciate it. I'll even put your name in the acknowledgments section.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

In the near future (hopefully by the end of the weekend, as long as family commitments get fulfilled) I am planning a post on Blur's two Iceland shows (from 1996 and 1997) including uploads of the audio...so stay tuned and bear with me if it takes a little longer than expected to get them up (I have a very busy life, but I always try to make room for Blur!)

EDIT 3/26/10: I'm going to hold off a bit on this as a fellow Blur fan and friend from Iceland has volunteered to supply me with scans of posters, photos, and tickets from these gigs to use in the post, so I will wait until then...stay tuned!

1996 was a strange year for Blur. They were still one of the top bands in British rock and were wildly popular. However, a press-led revisionist backlash against them (and in favor of Oasis) found them in the paradoxical situation of being massively popular with fans but not with critics. Even though The Great Escape (released in September 1995) was a #1 album and Album of the Year award winner, all of a sudden Blur were officially declared "uncool." However, they had to spend 1996 continuing the promotion of the album and its singles. A full year of touring in 1996 had initially been planned, but this was scaled back at the band's insistence to a US tour in the winter and a European tour in the spring. All members of the band have subsequently stated that had they been forced to tour all of 1996, the band would have blown apart.

However, after finishing the European tour, they threw themselves with gusto into the writing and recording of their next album, which would eventually unveil a radical shift in style and sound. Amidst all of this, they reconvened to play a handful of festival shows in the summer of 1996. The dates and venues are listed below (with available recordings in bold font):

What's really great about the recordings we do have are the set lists:

Hultsfred Festival:

Jubilee Chinese BombsShe’s So HighTo the End Mr. Robinson’s QuangoGlobe AloneAdvertThis is a LowSong 2Girls and BoysCountry HouseStereotypesParklifeThe Universal

RDS Showgrounds:

StereotypesTracy JacksCharmless ManIt Could Be YouEnd of a CenturyJubileeChinese BombsMr. Robinson’s QuangoNiteklub (w/Terry Hall)PopsceneGlobe AloneBank HolidayThis is a LowSong 2Girls and BoysCountry HouseHe Thought of CarsFor TomorrowThere’s No Other WayMy SharonaTo the EndParklifeThe Universal

Besides the great variety in the set (they were still even playing Country House at this juncture!) are the rarities, including Niteklub (with Terry Hall joining for vocals) and the live debuts of Chinese Bombs and Song 2, both with different lyrics. In fact, Song 2 has slightly different lyrics just between these two gigs!

Followed in September by the Icelandic gig (which I will review at a later date), these shows capture Blur in transition from their BritPop heyday on the way to their more lo-fi and experimental phase, which would take the world by storm in 1997 with Blur and reach its logical conclusion with 1999's 13. These are fascinating portraits of a band blending old and new into something even more exciting than before!

I don't know of the definite existence of any of the other summer 1996 festival shows but would surely love to get copies of any if they do exist. If you have them or know someone who does, please contact me privately!

Here's Blur's show from the Quart Festival in the summer of 1999 in an excellent soundboard recording. Recordings claiming to be from Roskilde '99 used this recording for years until I was able to unearth the REAL Roskilde '99 audience tape from the taper in mid-2009. This is NOT Roskilde, it's the Quart show. Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

As was usual for them, in 1997 Blur undertook a tour of Japan. And as was usual, these were some of the best shows of the tour, full of screaming, fanatical crowds and inspired sets from the band with rarities thrown in just for the Japanese fans. Here are the tour dates for this series of concerts:

Only two recordings are available from this tour: the May 27th show in Osaka and the June 3rd show in Tokyo. I know for a fact that a recording for the Budokan show on May 26th exists and I'm trying my hardest to track it down. But for now, we'll have to settle for the two shows that are available. Below are the set lists, with the rare songs in bold font:

Festival Hall, Osaka May 27th, 1997

BeetlebumMovin' OnJubileeStereotypesCountry Sad Ballad ManM.O.R.To The EndShe's So HighSwallows In The HeatwavePopsceneChinese BombsAdvertBank HolidayGirls & BoysDeath Of A PartyThis Is A LowYou're So GreatSong 2On Your OwnParklifeLook Inside AmericaThe UniversalSing

Blitz, Tokyo June 3rd, 1997

BeetlebumMovin' OnJubileeStereotypesCountry Sad Ballad ManM.O.R.To The EndShe's So HighSwallows In The HeatwavePopsceneChinese BombsAdvertBank HolidayGirls & BoysBeardDeath Of A PartyThis Is A LowFriedSong 2On Your OwnSupa ShoppaParklifeStrange News From Another StarThe UniversalSing

You're So Great was played at the Osaka show (and other shows during this tour) and the Osaka tape is, to date, the only documented live performance of this song by Blur. It's Graham on electric guitar and sounds different from the album version, a little timid but still good. The Tokyo tape (which was the last show of the tour) has more nuggets: a full version of Beard, a rare performance of Fried, and the only (to date) full performance of Strange News From Another Star (they played it at the end of 2003, but only a snippet from a show in Amsterdam is available). In this version, Damon and Graham have to run through the chords and arrangement with Alex and Dave right onstage before they play it...it's a neat moment and ends up being a decent enough version, but essential for historical value.

As was usual with Blur, Japan was witness to some of their best and most interesting shows. I hope someday soon I will get a copy of the '97 Budokan tape or any other shows from Japan. Of course, if you have one of the shows or any others, please contact me privately.

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About Me

I'm a husband, father, musician, writer, author, and runner. I'm the author of two published books on Blur and numerous other bits and bobs, most of which I intend to start collecting here. I review books and write about anything and everything that I want to.